I have always enjoyed reading the latest on early man or of other species. But it often appears they assume a tad too much. Anyone else see something that may not be factual in these assumptions; "This suggests that while Neanderthals may have had a similar brain size to ours, it may have been the way our brains developed over our lifetimes that was key to our success. We don't know what benefits these genetic changes had. But others have suggested that it is our hyper-social, cooperative brain that sets us apart. From language and culture to war and love, our most distinctively human behaviours all have a social element." http://www.bbc.com/earth/story/20150929-why-are-we-the-only-human-species-still-alive
I have studied a lot of anthropology books and one recurring theme is geography and weather for social development.....the La Hoya Indians in San Diego developed very little in terms of tools, language and architecture...mainly because they needed very little and food was abundant ...some called them the laziest tribe in the Americas..they basically feasted and fornicated 24/7..isolation also changes development.....a great book about this is "The Forest People" by Colin Turnbull....Pygmy culture is unique mainly due to the isolation of their geography....One group of French Neanderthals was geographically isolated from other western tribes and without the contact...lived within their ways and means....as to brain size....even today most humans don't even begin to tap the potential.....lot of unused gray matter running around out there....harsh geographical conditions stimulated the need for tools and travel for food....this got the brain ticking more than the size of the brain....all anthropologists follow hunches and assumptions in order to untwine possibilities...this is much more difficult with indigenous peoples who didn't leave permanent artifacts behind...most of their items composted being organic in nature...we get the rare sand paintings on occasion but Native Americans and Vikings had no written languages...they were cultures of story tellers...then too often war or genocide wiped out many of the elders...and their stories died with them
I'm always going to be fascinated by early man! Here's some new news about the oldest news: https://qz.com/1151816/early-humans-migrated-out-of-africa-much-earlier-than-we-thought/ Homo Sapiens was horny, baby, yeah!
This isn't non-fiction, of course, but have you read Neil Gaiman's "American Gods"? That last part of your post makes me think you'd really like it. It's a meditation about exactly that: storytelling cultures, the gods they take with them in their minds to America, and how they are eventually forgotten completely. It's long and rambling, but it's a book I read every winter because of the truth of storytelling underneath the plot.
This was similar with other tribes also. Like the ones that lived around the Columbia River estuary. Fish were so plentiful that little effort was needed to gather more than enough food. Heck, even for the white man! I can recall walking down to the creek near the house where dad would fetch a salmon easy. But then you go a little farther south and the indigenous people seem to be another race almost. 6'4" instead of 5'7", big guys, more like from Samoans rather than the offspring of those that crossed the Siberian/Alaskan causeway. 23and me ought to take that one up. Speaking of that, my kids had me do that test. 76% British Islander, a German or two and Balkan girl. Not all that surprising. Then we have my oldest grandson, with about 1.5% Neanderthal like genes. His dad and family are natives to norther Italy. When these articles speak of us as the winners, may not be exactly right.
Ah! This is quite a leap forward for this field. Seem much closer to the truth from my observations. "There’s also new evidence that modern humans interbred with Neanderthals as well as the more recently discovered relatives, the Denisovans, and other hominin groups, a sign that homo sapiens and other groups overlapped in Asia and interacted often."
Read 1491, you would enjoy it. Before Columbus discovered America there were no tomatoes in Italian cooking. There were no earthworms in North or South America.
Yes and out of the 180 different types of potatoes the Irish only started growing one. Resulting in the great potato famine.
I’m actually in Ireland right now. Had some extra air miles to spend and came with my dad and two brothers before christmas, while it’s cheap. Having a great time so far. It’s almost 1:30 now but I haven’t adjusted so I’m catching up on all RC2. I can confirm, they currently have potatoes. I didn’t know this. Something to learn in that for sure. Diversity is good. Went to St. James Gate today. Really cool experience. Mmmmmmm, beer.
